This invention relates to cereals and confections which change color on contact with aqueous liquid such as milk. It also relates to the process to produce such cereals and confections
The presence of even a few pieces of the novel magic-like color changing cereals in accordance with the present invention either alone or mixed with ordinary cereal in a bowl, provides an opportunity to promote children's interest and appetite in the consumption of the nutritious food.
In the field of cereals and confections, visual attraction is an important factor. It is particularly so in the field of children's food such as breakfast cereal and snacks. Because of this, the cereal industry has been making a great effort to enhance the visual attraction of children's breakfast cereals. Thus, there are many children's breakfast cereals which contain various colored cereals, and cereals that contain some colored pieces, and some cereals containing various amounts of colored confections such as dried marshmallows in various shapes, etc.
This invention enhances the visual attraction of cereals and confections by providing cereals and confections which change color on contact with aqueous edible medium such as for example, cold milk, hot water, etc.
It should also be pointed out that an important objective of the present invention is to avoid the use of chemical additives which would give an impression to consumers that the color changes are due to some kind of a chemical reaction.
By way of background, it should also be pointed out that there are many ready-to-eat cereals presently available that are "frosted." These cereals involve a paint-like coating which is applied in the form of a liquid suspension of opaque edible materials, which is then dried to provide a solid film which includes the opaque edible material.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a ready-to-eat cereal or confection which instantly changes color on contact with an aqueous like such as for example, with milk, and to provide a process for producing such cereals and confections. It is an object of the present invention to achieve this result without the use of color changing chemical additives.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an instantly color-changing cereal or confection which does not affect the color of the aqueous medium such as milk when immersed in it.